Press for shaping and curing pneumatic tires

ABSTRACT

A press for shaping and curing pneumatic tires having a collapsible bladder controlled by a center mechanism, and having a movable upper mold section and a stationary lower mold section, and having a mechanism for withdrawing a cured tire from the press including an arm device adapted to engage a cured tire suspended from the center mechanism and a drive unit for driving the upper mold section for opening and closing movement of the press and for driving the arm device for removing a cured tire from the center mechanism and discharging the tire from the press.

United States Patent Yoshida et al.

[151 3,685,929 51 Aug. 22, 1972 [54] PRESS FOR SHAPING AND CURINGPNEUMATIC TIRES raguchi-cho, Nada-kn, Kobe, all of Japan [22] Filed:Oct. 5, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 78,022

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Ushigoyayama 2,832,991 5/ 1958Soderquist 18/2 TP 2,832,992 5/1958 Soderquist 18/2 TP 3,141,191 7/1964Soderquist ..18/2 TP 3,343,208 9/1967 Pacaiarini et a1. ..18/2 TP3,222,716 12/ 1965 Harris 18/2 TP 3,336,630 8/ 1967 Soderquist ..l8/2 TPFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 964,363 7/1964 Great Britain 18 /2 TPPrimary Examiner.l. Howard Flint, Jr, Attorney-Hamilton, Renner & Kenner[57] ABSTRACT A press for shaping and curing pneumatic tires having acollapsible bladder controlled by a center mechanism, and having amovable upper mold section and a stationary lower mold section, andhaving a Oct. 6, 1969 Japan ..44/80072 mechanism for withdrawing a curedtire from the press including an arm device adapted to engage a ((51cured tire Suspended from the center mechanism and [58] Fn .ld 18/2 TP adrive unit for driving the upper m 01 d Section for ie 0 re opening andclosing movement of the press and for I driving the arm device forremoving a cured tire from [56] References cued the center mechanism anddischarging the tire from UNITED STATES PATENTS the P 3,012,279 12/ 1961Boysen ..18/2 TP UX 4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures I4 l I: 6 l \f 9 Z I I I0 1 I '1 k 2 :lfw j l AUG 2 2 I972 SHEET 2 BF 3 5 E INVENTORS SHOUSHIYOSHIDA ATSUAKI IWAMA BY TAKASHI OKADA m A E D .N w w A at T I PRESS FORSHAPING AND CURING PNEUMATIC TIRES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to a press for shaping and curing unvulcanizedtire bands and more particularly to such a press for shaping and curingtires which ensures the quick and easy withdrawal from the press of atire which has been shaped and cured by virtue of efficient andeconomical apparatus.

In a conventional press for shaping and curing tires having a pair ofopposed separable or relatively movable mold sections or halves, oneupper and the other lower, and a bladder and center mechanism carried byand extending from a mold section and containing primarily a verticalcylinder, it is the usual practice for withdrawal of a cured tire toresort to a suitable separate tire withdrawing mechanism operated by ahydraulic cylinder or motor. In such conventional presses, support ofthe tire during shaping and curing to maintain the precise configurationof the internal circumference thereof is provided by an elastomericbladder operated by the center mechanism which serves not only tooperate the bladder but also to push the cured tire upwardly strippingit from the lower mold section. After the uppermold section has beendisplaced upwardly relative to the lower mold section and the cured tirehas been stripped from the lower mold section as described above, thecenter mechanism then moves the cured tire a distance above the lowermold half. Center mechanisms of this type are well known in the art andreference is made to US. Pat. No. 3,260,782 for details of theconstruction and operation of an example thereof. The cured tire is thennormally removed from the press by a suitable withdrawing device whichis independently driven and controlled.

This conventional type of the press for shaping .and curing tires issubject to the disadvantage of requiring separate apparatus in the formof a tire withdrawing cylinder or motor, a press drive motor, and apower source for operating the cylinder in the center mechanism.Moreover, interlocking devices are necessary to ensure safety in thepress operation because of the lack of the mechanical linkage betweenthe tire withdrawing cylinder or motor, the press drive motor, and thecenter mechanism which causes difficulty in achieving the synchronizedtiming required between tire press operation and subsequent withdrawalof the cured tire. In order to provide for the interaction of theseindividual devices the time interval between operation is frequentlyextended, thereby producing unfavorable operation of the press from thestandpoint of efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A primary object of the present invention is toprovide a press for shaping and curing tires incorporating a device forwithdrawing a shaped and cured tire employing the power drive of thepress itself, without need for installation of a separate drive device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a press forshaping and curing tires having a device for withdrawing a shaped andcured tire which is substantially simplified in construction so that thecycle time of press operation can be appreciably reduced.

- Still another object of the present invention is to provide a pressfor shaping and curing tires providing well synchronized timing betweenthe cured tire withdrawing device and the components of the pressitself.

A specific object is to provide a press for shaping and curing tireswith a collapsible bladder and a cylinder operated center mechanism andincorporating a device for removing a cured tire from the centermechanism and subsequently discharging it from the press operated by thepower drive of the press, without the necessity for an extra orindependent drive mechanism.

A press for shaping and curing tires pursuant to the present inventionenables a cured tire to be automatically withdrawn from the press byfirst being removed from its position on the center mechanism by the un-I loader which then discharges it outwardly of the press. The powerneeded to operate the device for tire removal and discharge is,according to the present invention, provided by the power driveself-contained in the press which serves primarily for controllingmovement of the upper mold section relative to the stationary lower moldsection through a driving mechanism usually equipped with a suitablemotor, the power therefrom being normally transmitted, in part, to theupper half of the mold through a suitable crank mechanism.

The operating mode of a press according to the present invention forshaping and curing tires contemplates that the n're withdrawal device ispowered by rotation of a crank mechanism driven by the press driveprovided primarily for relative movement of the mold halves in the formof the motor and links associated with conventional press construction.This design eliminates the need for .a separate or independent powersource specifically for the tire withdrawal device as has been employedin conventional presses for shaping and curing tires. This advantageinherent in the present invention has contributed to the realization ofan appreciably simplified construction of the press which in turnreduces the possibility of difficulty or failure in press operationwhile a reduced cost of the press as a whole is achieved. The simplifiedconstruction provides additional advantages such as the control of theupper half of a mold linked with a power source in a conventionalmanner, synchronized operation of the tire withdrawal device relative tothe movement of the upper half of the mold, simplified interconnectionbetween the press and unloader, reduced overall cycle time of tireshaping, curing and withdrawal, and improvement of the overall operationof the press.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the present invention may behad by referring to the following description and claims, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevationview of a press according to the present invention showing particularlythe press power drive components.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the press of FIG. 1 showing thetire withdrawal device in operative relation thereto.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the press with the withdrawal deviceduring the tire curing operation.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view, sequential to FIG. 3, of the press with thetire withdrawal device subsequent to press opening with the cured tirestripped from the mold sections and suspended by the bladder of thecenter mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view, sequential to FIG. 4, of the press with thetire withdrawal device showing .the withdrawal device inposition underthe cured tire in its suspended position.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view, sequential to FIG. 5, of the press with thetire withdrawal device showing the tire in a position raised above'thecenter mechanism and tilted for discharge from the press by thewithdrawal device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,the press drive has a crank gear 1 together with a conventional motorand suitable gear train or other comparable components which drivethrough the link 1' the components producing motion of the upper half ofthe mold M2 in shaft4b th 'o'ntacti nofth i ion2 th I t 3 to take upiliecable 8 on reef? about g iii e pi illeys and 7, thereby resulting in themovement of the frame 8 carrying the takeup arm 16 in a horizontaldirection.

' under the bottom of the tire T due to the joint action of it commencesa substantially upward vertical motion asv dictated by the guide groovesl3, l4 and 15, engaging the underside of cured tire T (as seen in FIG.5), and

clearing the tire T above the center mechanism carrythe press. A pinion2 also engages the gear 1 and by virtue of an associated clutch 3,intermittently engaged and disengaged, controllably drives a reel shaft4, accordingly. The shaft 4 has its ends mounted in bearings (not shown)for rotation and carries a reel 5 nonrotatably keyed thereto to allowthe payout and the top, middle and bottom, respectively, as illustratedin FIG. 2. The cam followers 10, 11 and 12 are positioned to engagerespective guide grooves 13, 14 and 15 machined into guide plates l7'andl7 on both sides of the press, thereby determining the path of motion offrame 8. A tire takeup arm 16 which may consist of a plurality of rolls(as shown) is secured to the frame 8 of the withdrawal device andtherefore similarly follows an identical path controlled by the camfollowers 10, 11 and 12. A rotary cam switch (not illustrated in theaccompanying drawings) or similar device controls the clutch 3 so thatwhen the crank gear has separated the upper mold section M1 from thelower mold section M2 a predetermined distance, the clutch 3 is engaged,whereby the pinion 2 driven by shaft 1 drives the reel5 to retrievecable 9 causing the takeup arm 16 to follow the mold sections ready fortire unloading. At this time,

the crank gear 1 commences rotation which through the'rnotion oflink 1causes the upper mold section M1 to separate from the lower mold sectionM2. Subsequently, the clutch 3 engages, when the crank gear 1 hastumedthrough a degree of rotation to allow the stripping and positioningof the cured tire, contemporaneous with the erection of the bladder.Thus, the rotation of the crank gear 1 is transmitted to the reel ingthe bladder B. Finally, the takeup arm 16 is sloped or inclined to thehorizontal, as illustrated in FIG. 6,.to

discharge the tire T off the arm 16 by gravity onto a fixed conveyor Cor other tire takeaway device (FIG.

5). Once the tire T has reached the discharge position v I plemented bysuitable spring loading or other mechanical device in order to ensurepositive return.

Although the description of the present invention has been made withthedegree of particularity requisite for understanding by personsskilled in the art, it is to be understood that the present disclosurehas been made only by way of example and that-numerous changes indetails of construction and the combination and arrangement of partsmaybe resorted to without departing from the spirit and. scope of theinvention as hereinafter claimed.

We claim:

1. In a press for shaping and curing pneumatic tires 1 having acollapsible bladder controlled by a center mechanism and havingseparable mold sections, a movable upper mold section and a stationarylower mold section, a mechanism for withdrawing a cured tire from thepress comprising, arm means for engaging a cured tire suspended from'thecenter mechanism and single drive means operatively linked to the uppermold section for opening and closing the press and directly operativelylinked to said arm means for removing a cured tire from the centermechanism and discharging the tire from the press.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein clutch means providesintermittent drive of said arm means.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said arm means have attachedcam means following guide means to direct the arm means substantiallyhorizontally then substantially vertically for removing a cured tirefrom the center mechanism.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said arm means is carried onframe means operatively linked to said single drive means operativelylinked to the upper mold section and said arm means.

i i i i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3 685 9Z9 Dated August 22 1972 Inventor s) Shoushi Yoshida et a1 It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the cover sheet insert [73] Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd

Signed and sealed this 29th day of August 1972 r (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCH.ER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents I USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 t u.s. covnlmnn PRINTING ornc: waso36s-as4.

FORM PO-1050 (10-69)

1. In a press for shaping and curing pneumatic tires having acollapsible bladder controlled by a center mechanism and havingseparable mold sections, a movable upper mold section and a stationarylower mold section, a mechanism for withdrawing a cured tire from thepress comprising, arm means for engaging a cured tire suspended from thecenter mechanism and single drive means operatively linked to the uppermold section for opening and closing the press and directly operativelylinked to said arm means for removing a cured tire from the centermechanism and discharging the tire from the press.
 2. Apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein clutch means provides intermittent driveof said arm means.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said armmeans have attached cam means following guide means to direct the armmeans substantially horizontally then substantially vertically forremoving a cured tire from the center mechanism.
 4. Apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein said arm means is carried on frame means operativelylinked to said single drive means operatively linked to the upper moldsection and said arm means.